Rotorua ballet dancer to join Royal NZ Ballet performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Selina Zhou, 10, will perform as the changeling when the Royal New Zealand Ballet production of A Midsummer Night's Dream visits Rotorua.

A 10-year-old Rotorua ballet dancer is excited and confident about taking the stage with members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RBNZ).

Selina Zhou has been selected to perform in the ballet’s production of the whimsical Shakespearian comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre on Thursday evening.

Rotorua is the Christmas season show’s only Bay of Plenty stop, and the last before the company heads to Auckland for the tour’s final performances next month.

At each stop, the cast has been joined by a local child playing the small walk-on role of the changeling — the child at the centre of the custody dispute between Fairy King Oberon and his estranged Queen Titania. The role requires minimal rehearsals and does not involve any dancing.

Proud mum Meixia Chen said Selina won the part as she was just the right height and had a good memory.

Chen said Selina had been doing ballet since she was 5, following her older sister into dancing.

She attended the Anne Samson School Of Ballet in Rotorua.

Selina Zhou, 10, will perform as the changeling when the Royal New Zealand Ballet production of A Midsummer Night's Dream visits Rotorua.

“She was really excited when she was asked to do the part, as she loves performing for dance.”

Chen said Selina loved to share her talent on stage and was not feeling nervous as she had performed at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre before.

“She will be quite confident in the role… we know that she will be fantastic.”

Chen and husband Hang own the Coin Save shop in Rotorua and Selina is the middle child of five. Her siblings are Cassandra, Colin, Joanna, and Anabelle.

The family moved to New Zealand from China because it “seemed like a perfect country”.

Ballet teacher Anne Samson said Selina was a “delightful young lady” who gave her all in class and fit the costuming requirements for the changeling role.

“A wonderful opportunity for her. She has just finished dancing at Sir Howard Morrison Centre last week in her studio’s production, so I’m sure she will be very confident in this opportunity.”

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing A Midsummer Night's Dream this Christmas season, after it premiered in 2015. Photo / Stephen A'Court

This season of A Midsummer Night’s Dream began in Wellington in October and has visited Christchurch, Dunedin, Palmerston North and Napier before arriving in Rotorua.

The ballet was created for the RBNZ by choreographer Liam Scarlett and premiered in 2015 before touring internationally.

Until this year’s season, sponsored by Ryman Healthcare, it had not been seen outside Wellington in almost a decade. It is a co-production with Queensland Ballet.

RBNZ artistic director Ty King-Wall said there was “so much to behold and treasure in this production”.

“Tracy Grant Lord’s set is a marvel that makes you want to jump up out of your seat and explore, and Liam Scarlett’s marvellously inventive, intricate and richly layered choreography brings this magical array of characters to life.”

The Royal New Zealand Ballet will perform A Midsummer Night's Dream in Rotorua on Thursday. Photo / Stephen A'Court

Soloist Shaun James Kelly — who returns to his role as Puck, an apprentice to Oberon, which he also performed in the 2015 production — said the story was “funny, quirky and unashamedly romantic”.

“Flying across the stage, in the magical forest world, is pure delight for the dancers and audiences.”

Tickets for the Rotorua production are available from Ticketmaster via the Sir Howard Morrison Centre and RBNZ websites.

Samantha Motion is a regional content leader for NZME. She has reported in the Bay of Plenty region for more than a decade.